Wikto Sunke'ath
Rebellious savage Travis' character Character Sheet Archer 1 9 HP 14 AC +3 Initiative STR 16 (+3) DEX 16 (+3) CON 13 (+1) INT 10 (+0) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 10 (+0) Attacks: Spear (thrown with sudden strike) +5, d8+5 20/x3 Spear (melee with sudden strike) +4, d8+6 20/x3 Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +4 Traits: Hunter-Gatherer (Spear, Hunter - +1 to hit and damage and additional +1 to hit and damage vs. animals and +2 on all survival checks) Intuitive Learning (Wis to skills, base languages) Feats: Sudden Strike 1 (+1 to attack and damage with newly drawn spear and quick draw with spear) Precise Shot 1 (no penalty for throwing into melee) Class Abilities: Deadeye Shot (Distant Shot) Skills: Perception Group 4 -Listen (+3 wis) = 7 -Search (+0 int) = 4 -Sense Motive (+3 wis) = 7 -Spot (+3 wis) = 7 Agility Group 4 -Balance (+3 dex) = 7 -Escape Artist (+3 dex) = 7 -Tumble (+3 dex) = 7 Athletics Group 4 -Climb (+3 str) = 7 -Jump (+3 str) = 7 -Swim (+3 str) = 7 Heal 4 (+3 wis) = 7 Survival 4 (+3 wis) = 7 Hide 4 (+3 dex) = 7 Move Silently 4 (+3 dex) = 7 Background Wikto is a member of the Kôt a'Loa tribe that has dwelled in the wilderness surrounding Lede, since time immemorial. For the most part, Wikto and his tribe have ignored the march of civilization, hunting and foraging as their ancestors had for centuries before them. The resources of the region have always been plentiful and for that reason there has been little reason to ever contact the people of Lede. However, in Wikto's lifetime, he has seen the forest shrink and the ecosystem damaged. The summer season used to be joyous time of bounty, but now the men fast after nightfall to preserve what little they can for the women and children. Each day, the ominous chops of wood workers' tools bear down on them, closing in on them, clearing way for yet further advancement of king/noble/baron's realm. The Kôt a'Loa people have begun to fear for their way of life. High Concept: Kôt a'Loa tribesman opposed to "civilized humanity"'s encroachment (Not in my backyard!) As an initiated man of the tribe, it is Wikto's duty to protect its people and ways. He has decided to confront King farthias himself to demand a cessation of the building of settlements that threaten his people's environment. Trouble Aspect: Arrogant/Overly Ambitious (King Nothing/Baron Von Bullshit) The Kôt a'Loa tribe has a particularly rough ritual that each boy must pass before he is initiated as a man of the tribe. On the eve of each new year, a cohort of the uninitiated volunteer to test their mettle against the trial. They line up at dusk on the plateau of Black Mesa, a sacred hill that overlooks the wilderness. Each boy is given a weapon and a small sack of berries to last them a week. In order to pass the trial, the boy must track and kill an animal, then return with a carcass that will feed himself and at least one other tribemember by noon on the seventh day. This is no small task in the dead of winter, and it is very common for boys to fail. Failure means another year gathering plantfood with the women and children. Another year without the permission to carry a weapon. Another year as a child, if they survive at all. The first year that Wikto attempted his trial, he was the youngest of the group, auspiciously young, at merely 14 years old, amongst a group of 16 to 20 year olds. Before he was handed his spear and pouch of berries, the tribe elder overseeing the rite gave him one last chance to back out and wait another year. This was out of the ordinary, but those in attendance understood his desire to protect a child from the dangers of the wild. Stubborn child that he was, Wikto refused to back out. He marched out into the darkness with his brothers, knowing he may never see them again. On the first day, Wikto stumbled onto rabbit tracks. Spear clenched tightly, he traced the rabbit's trail through the undergrowth for most of the day. Finally he spotted it some 30 feet from him. He let out a frustrated sigh; it was too small to feed two people. His sigh startled the rabbit and it zipped off. Just then he heard a commotion culminating in the shriek of a dead animal. He had scared the rabbit right into the path of an 18 year old named Ma'Shu, who promptly vanquished the little thing. Ma'Shu was the first to return to Black Mesa. Wikto immediately regretted his hesitation. There were a few young children who could have eaten that rabbit. Ma'Shu was older and knew to seize the opportunity. The thought lingered in Wikto's mind. When he awoke the next morning, the ground was frozen. No new tracks would be made that day, he had to hurry before the any visible prints became too stale to be of any use. On that second day, a more clever boy, Kor, had left his rations out in a gambit. The trick worked and Kor returned with a 15 pound raccoon. Wikto was still without a kill. The third, fourth, and fifth days passed without a glimpse of another animal, nor any of the other boys. That's when it began to snow. Wikto nearly froze to death on the sixth night. He had begun his sorry trek back to Black Mesa the night before and slept at the edge of the woods. When he finally came to on the seventh morning, he could see the tribe elders atop Black Mesa. He stood up and met their collective gaze; they had been watching him from high up on the cliff. They all burst into laughter; partly they were relieved that he was alive, but they also laughed at the young Wikto for believing he could complete the trial while he was still so young. Wikto looked up and saw a buzzard circling high above him. It was laughing too. In that moment, he conjured all the spite and frustration he'd ever felt into a single motion. The spear that had been harnessed to his back leapt out of his hand in a split second. Like a lightning bolt it shot no less than 100 feet in the air and pierced the breast of the buzzard, then crashed back to Earth skewering the bloodied bird into the crusty ice. The elders fell silent. Everything was silent and a calmness returned to him. That motion would stick with him. Wikto raced up the hill with his fresh kill. That meal was the greatest he'd ever tasted, and he shared his victory with the tribe. That day, Wikto received the surname that certified him as a man of the Kôt a'Loa. Wikto became Wikto Sunke'ath (one who gives/takes the buzzard's wings). Background Aspect: Ascendant skills (Spear Chucker Extraordinaire) Ever since that day Wikto has been a provider for the tribe. As he grew and the forest shrank, he became more and more depended upon. As a skilled tracker and now the keenest spearman in the tribe, he has been the only man that consistently returns with meat to sustain the tribe. But in recent months, even he has come back empty handed. Desperation is sinking in; it's time to take a new path. If he can't bring them food, he'll do something else. Anything else. Rising Aspect: The world on my shoulders. Wikto has been pushing himself harder than ever. He stays out all night hunting, sleeping minimally. During the day he stalks the woodsmen. He studies them like prey. He's never read a book in his life, but he's already picked up multiple languages that are spoken in the camps. He studies their culture from just behind the treeline. One day two men came back to the camp late while Wikto was eavesdropping on a conversation amongst the camp watchmen. The two clods had no idea what sort of beast or man they were looking at, but they weren't taking any chances. They drew their axes and charged at him, catching him off guard. Wikto was able to avoid their lazy swings, but a trained killer would have taken his head and he knew it. Wikto rolled behind a tree and launched a deadly bolt straight through the trunk of the first man, killing him instantly. The second man was dumbstruck for a second, just before fleeing, shouting wildly about a beast-man. There could be no witnesses. Wikto took careful aim and heaved a second bolt, downing the poor idiot in his tracks. Wikto retrieved his weapons and escaped only seconds before the guards arrived. But now the seed has been planted. The rumor is spreading: there is a beast-man in the woods that can put a hole in a man's chest, and there are two bodies to prove it. First Adventure: Oops, I guess I'm an eco-terrorist. Since then, he has gotten a few of his other tribesmen involved in sabotage and raids to disrupt the outlying territories. Most recently, they hit a caravan. The tribe's elder medicine man told the younger warriors that he could be of assistance if they needed it, but would not elaborate. He simply told them that they must honor their ancestor's spirits. Just as they sprung their trap, Wikto shouted, "HONOR THE SPIRITS! BEGIN THE ASSAULT!" This particular raid followed the same modus operandi as all the others. They were not interested in theft of valuables, especially since these cultures had such a canyon of difference in value. The Kôt a'Loa, being the primitive utilitarians that they are, find little use in fanciful clothing or spices when there is no meat (nor are they familiar with processing the likes of grain or cereal). These raids were purely antagonistic. They had only one purpose: to express their opposition to civilized expansion. Though, it should be noted, Wikto came across a few journals and log books and used them to teach himself to read, aside from that and a few personal armaments nothing was ever stolen; everything was burned or otherwise destroyed. They had not yet come across any major arms shipment or other useful caravan, nor had they planned in advance to target any such shipment. It didn't take long for those with money and power to notice. These savages existed and posed a threat to their profit margins and power grabs. A bounty was quickly posted on the heads of Kôt a'Loa rebels. Wikto was given the prime target, with a 200 gold bounty, dead or alive, while the others were listed as accessories: an additional 50 gold per man. The mercenaries, bounty hunters, and anyone looking to make a name for themselves salivated at that price. The bounty posters were everywhere. Wikto was making his rounds, patrolling the edges of the woodsmen's camps at morning's first light when he saw one for the first time. There was a crude drawing of his face and the words DEAD OR ALIVE scrawled boldly across it. At first, this only amused him. He had caught their attention. Good. However, upon reading further and learning of the price on the heads of any tribesman, he immediately realized what danger he had put his entire tribe in. They would be hunted and exterminated. Their culture forgotten. A fate worse than death. Wikto did not complete his rounds that day. He was nauseated by the thoughts conjured by the poster. He went to see the medicine man instead. Wikto complained of chest pain, a shortness of breath, nausea, and general weakness. The elderly medicine man knew these symptoms. It was a sickness of the spirit. A weight on his soul that no ritual could cure. However, there was a way to find an answer to his ills. The elder tribesman reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a leafy herb. He gave Wikto instructions on its use: head to the top of Black Mesa, make a campfire, brew the herb into a tea, then sit with the fire until it goes out. If the imbiber meditates deeply, when the fire goes out, the soul will separate from the body, stepping through the smoke to begin a spirit journey. Wikto took the medicine man's advice. The world went dark. He stepped through the smoke. He could see down to where he had first become a man. His spirit descended from the clifftop. He stood in that selfsame spot once more. Spirits of the elders appeared, just as they had been in life. They looked down on him. This time they did not laugh. Swords jabbed through their backsides, their blades showing through to Wikto. The elders screamed and collapsed. The swords that pierced their bodies transformed into buzzards, they and thousands of others flew up above Wikto. They circled, nearly blacking out the sky. The birds then melted together, forming a single gigantic, menacing bird. Wikto instinctively reached for one of the many spears he kept strapped to his back, but they were gone. The buzzard locked its gaze on him. It dropped its wings into a powerful dive. Terror gripped Wikto's heart as the bird swallowed him whole. Then there was peace. Wikto awoke the next day with renewed resolve and purpose. His journey had shown him the way. He became a man by slaying that bird, but his new foe was too large, too powerful. He possessed no weapon that could kill a kingdom. The only way to save his kin was to submit. Lay down before the mighty bird as a sacrifice. If its desire to devour his flesh was so great that it would swallow him whole in haste, then Wikto would choke it from the inside. There was only one thing certain about this plan: someone was going to die. Wikto descended Black Mesa to speak with the elders. He did not detail his vision, nor his plan. He warned them that there was coming danger. He told them to migrate to the other side of Black Mesa until he returned. If he didn't come back, they should begin a journey in search of a new home. Then he left. Wikto walked out in the open, he used the paths that the woodsmen had blazed, until he came upon an adventurer, Morrigan, whereupon he knelt down and offered himself. "Arrest me." Upon being surrendered to the court, Wikto faced a magistrate. He explained the plight of his people, giving an unexpectedly passionate (though occasionally hard to follow) speech. But the magistrate was unmoved. Wikto was sentenced to death, then jailed in the interim before his sentence could be carried out. That night, guards woke Wikto at midnight. They grabbed him roughly and dragged him through some obscure tunnels to a dimly lit chamber. The guards tossed him in the room, then closed the chamber door, taking position outside. Wikto found himself facing the magistrate that had sentenced him no more than 12 hours prior.The magistrate explained some intricacies of the law regarding a death sentence. What is commonly known as a death sentence is actually codified in the law as a life debt - one which is usually paid with the life of the offender. In exceedingly rare circumstances, a magistrate may offer mercy, allowing the life debt to be paid by another capital offender. The catch here is that the law requires that the offender to be pardoned must capture another capital offender to take his place. This saves the city money in bounties that don't need to be paid out, the people get their bloodlust quenched in the wake of a crime, and a soul that the magistrate has deemed worthy of mercy is spared. Everyone wins. But the process has its flaws: the criminal to be pardoned could escape, the people might not be happy with a merciful ruling, or there may not be any known capital offenders. For this reason, this special session was convened in secret. The judge offered Wikto this conditional pardon without the public's knowledge, giving him plausible deniability, should something go wrong. The magistrate went on to explain his reasoning and the conditions to be set. "In this time of extraordinary growth of Lede, men are gobbling up power wherever they see opportunity. The court has been dealing with a rash of political assassinations; nobles, officials, and wealthy merchants feel danger hanging over them. There is a guild of assassins for hire that would dare to kill any man, for the right price. This can not be tolerated. The condition of your pardon is to kill or capture the leader of this assasin guild. If we cut the head off the snake, the body will die. The city will be safer for all, and your life will be spared. All we know about him is his name: Namek. The city will close its gates tomrrow under the pretense of a festival. You have until nightfall tomorrow before the main corps of city guards are told that you have escaped and you are hunted down. My guards will see you out now." With that, Wikto was released. During the festival, Wikto ran into Morrigan. He explained his situation, and since Morrigan had already collected her bounty, she felt an obligation to help him out. Afterall, there was no way this savage could navigate a modern city. Together they got a hot tip and tracked a guild member down. Just as they were about to approach him, they saw him ambush a young woman in an alleyway. At first he shoved her, speaking harshly, then she looked like she was about to fight back, pulling a pair of curved daggers from their sheaths. But before she could make a move, a group of thugs converged from around the corner. Wikto and his guide hid at the opposite end of the alleyway, unsure what was about to happen, and just then another girl zoomed past them. The girl was in a dead sprint, but was able to leap over a pile of trash and weave through the thugs at full speed. The woman with the daggers used that split second to bury a knife in the man accosting her. All hell broke loose. The man winced, reaching for a weapon; the thugs pounced; and then two very large men rounded the corner, seeing a bunch of men attacking a woman, they instinctively bowled over every one of the men in moments. With the fury of those few short moments mostly quieted, Wikto and Morrigan revealed themselves."Where is Namek?" Wikto started in abruptly. This visibly caught the woman off guard. "He's dead. What do you want with my father?" Category:Iron Heroes Campaign 1 Category:Characters